High Pressure and District Regulator Stations

Michels Pacific Energy, Inc. deactivated two High Pressure Regulator (HPR) sets and one District Regulator Station (DREG) and replaced them with approximately 550 feet of 4-inch plastic distribution main and 580 feet of 2-inch plastic service pipe that one of the HPRs fed.

There were three tie-in points for the 4-inch distribution plastic main and each section was HDD bored end to end with the exception of small sections of open trench for tie-in alignment. The 2-inch plastic main was HDD bored under Gravenstein Highway and open trenched the rest of the way to the two gas meters due to the customer’s crossbore mitigation protocol. By replacing the HPR and DREG system, the client has replaced a higher risk feed with a low-risk system. The crew worked inside a large cider trucking facility and had to coordinate with the facilities management to work around shipping times in a safe, productive manner. Because the 4-inch plastic main stub that the crew tied into was not consistent with the as-built package, the crew shifted the bore path to minimize excavation around a well-traveled pedestrian bike path.